All Magic Comes With A Price
by Golds Girl
Summary: The story continues when Mr. Gold brings Magic back to Storybrooke.
1. Chapter 1

All Magic Comes With A Price

Chapter1: All Magic Comes With A Price

A haze of purple magic has broiled up from the well and is enveloping us in its sickly shade. What have we done? I can feel the evil spreading like cold fingers digging into my heart. It sends chills up my spine as the spell races forth and covers the small town of Storybrooke. I feel the fear of its inhabitants as they watch it approach. It is too much. I do not think I can go on. I have been waiting twenty-eight years, locked away in unending punishment for this release; yet my escape is not what I had hoped. Closing my eyes I can feel the touch of his lips and that one magical kiss we shared. The kiss that changed the course of my life, forever. Now I am bound, my heart a willing slave to a love that will surely end badly.

His laugh breaks the silence of the woods where populars loom, great prison bars that hold us here. I shiver at the touch of his hands on my shoulders. This is what I have dreamed of, what I have craved all those long days locked below the hospital in the Queen's new dungeon. His lips caress my ear as he whispers my name, "Belle." I cannot resist.

Gold's eyes seem to glow then flicker with danger, a hard glinting shard that colors them black. Our lips touch and for one moment the magic swirls around us binding us as ropes. My fate is sealed.

"There will be time for that later, dearie," he whispers, "Right now, we have a job to do."

Gold's fingers tighten around mine as he leads me from the woods. If I had not seen the curse, felt its power surge through me, I would think all is well. But it is not. Magic has returned, and it will not rest until someone has paid the price.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Dark Castle

"Obstinate," I muttered, my heels clicking on the stones that lead away from the Dark Castle.

Red heat flares in my cheeks leaving an ugly stain. He could have his castle and the invisible hands that do his bidding. He will not get from them the prize he desires. There is something much deeper than the need for power running beneath the coloring that taints his skin. Something darker, an appetite, so powerful, so scathing that desire could hardly begin to name it.

"You will regret this, Rumpelstiltskin," I called, looking back.

A shadow flickers at the window of the high tower; a figure clad in shirtsleeves- and leather. Longing flashes bright, heat coursing through my veins with a jolt. I steel myself pressing aside my passion, my need to return. I mock myself; _you were to be the hero that tamed the beast!_

I cannot go back, I will not.

Dark branches sway above me groaning as they spread their lonely arms over my head. Dusk turns to night and my shadow stretches out before me, wavering as it leads the way. Soon it will be black as pitch and I will be alone in the night. I shudder at the thought.

But I press on.

Lights appear before me adding a glow of hope to the gloom. A tavern looms ahead and for the price on my broach I drown my sorrows in a mug of beer. But it is little consolation. My thoughts turn away from the rowdy dwarfs drinking flagons of ale and back to the mysteries of the one they call the Dark One. My heart races and I cannot catch my breath as I bring hazy dreams to life in exquisite detail; his lips pressing mine open, his nimble fingers tracing the curves of my soft, trembling, untainted flesh.

The noise, the drink, the heat of the tavern is smothering me, and I stagger outside away from safety, into the night.

"Whose there!" I cry at a rustling in the brush. But the dark forest bears me a silent reply. There it is again. Something is moving, fast, a pounding growing louder as it draws closer, echoing the drumming of my heart. Then a fiery stead bursts from the trees, it's rider clad in black armor, his face an iron mask.

"Who are you?" I cry.

"A friend," the rider says, reaching out his hand for me to grasp.

As he does a wolf bounds snarling from the brush.

The rider clasps my hand pulling me on board and the beast backs away. A sobering fear washes over me as I realize I've been tricked. Then the rider spurs his steed into the night, into the dark forest, towards the castle of the Queen.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Awakening

We race the magic to the edge of town. Its power is a cold dark hand caressing my cheek as it surges past. I don't think I have ever known fear, or pure raw terror, but looking out from the edge of town I know it now and pause. I see a sea of people, some stunned others embracing as they shake off the vestiges of the long dark sleep the curse cast over them. It is not their joy that overwhelms me but how it turns to anger then to rage. A mob is forming.

"Come," says Gold, gripping me painfully as he pulls me forth and into a small dark building near the center of town. As soon as we are inside Gold locks the door and begins looking feverishly, tossing aside items I now recognize as being from our time on the other side.

"What are you looking for?" I ask, but he pushes brusquely past me.

"Gold!"

But he has found what he wants and puts it in his pocket.

"Hurry," he says. Something in his eyes sends a chill up my spine, "there's no time!"

I am rushed from the shop and back to the road where the mob has gathered outside Town Hall. They are calling out, "Regina, Regina."

They are calling for blood! A blonde haired woman I do not recognize is trying to calm the crowd but to no avail. As we approach the door is broken down and the entrance is rushed. Moments later a handsome man calls down from high above, "She's not here!" It is Charming!

The crowd looks to Charming as he bursts back onto the street. His eyes are wild and his brow furrowed in anger turning his better features into a grotesque mask. Gold pulls me past him, through the crowd, who press me in so tightly I cannot breathe. I fall gasping to the pavement.

It is then that I feel a wind envelop me. Gold's hands glow with magic that reaches out lifting me from my knees and guiding me to his side. His eyes shine with golden warmth, no longer dark shards but sparkling lights. I feel my heart jump. I float into his arms reaching up to brush his lips in the briefest kiss. But for a moment it lasts, suspended in the magic, and then the feeling is gone. I look into Gold's eyes and see something there that's, troubling, almost apologetic.

We run again, leaving the mob, to the outskirts of town. Silence fills the air before the old mine and hangs in deathly stillness, like a tomb. A grating has been hoisted from its spot opening into a deep dark shaft. It is here that we stop. Gold takes a small coin from his pocket turning it over in his finger several times before tossing it into the shaft. It disappears tumbling into the depths.

Nothing happens.

I look to him expectantly, his fingers tightening on mine. Then from far below the sound of a gear turning on rusty tracks rises growing louder and louder as it emerges from the ground. It is an elevator, a golden cage. Suddenly, it's meaning dawns on me and I look wildly at Gold. His eyes are resolute. I try to break free but his grip is an iron vise on my wrist.

"No!" I cry, I cannot!"

"I wont lose you again," he replies, pushing me into the cage.

The elevator begins to plummet deep into the shaft, "No, do not leave me," I cry. But the only sound that returns is a tittering laugh, and the grinding of the crank as I descend into darkness.

Regina stood at the window a slow smile splaying her lips then turning down as she remembered what she'd lost. "Henry," she gasped. A figure emerged from the shadows of Henry's room. "Jefferson!" she said, bristling at the sight of the menacing dark figure, "What do you want?"

"Me?" he snorted, taking a step closer, his words like breath on her cheek. "I want my Grace!"

"Well, you can't have her," Regina replied, turning away. Jefferson grabbed her wrist, and she spun back, her face reflecting surprise and alarm. She began to speak.

"Quiet!" said Jefferson, twisting her arm painfully, "I came to give you a message. Belle is back, and Gold knows what you've done!"

"What!" gasped Regina, falling back on the bed as Jefferson released her.

"He knows," Jefferson growled, "and when he finds you, there's no telling what he will do."

Regina's hands flew to her throat.

"If I were you, I would run," he said, his voice lingering as he faded into the shadows.

"Jefferson!" shouted Regina. But he was gone.

Then a terrible pounding shook the house. Charming was trying to knock down the door. "Come out, Regina!" The mob began to chant. Regina glanced out the window. At the front of the mob, standing alone behind Emma's outstretched arm, was Henry. "Henry," she whispered. Then a terrible splintering cracked the night. The door shattered and the mob rushed inside.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Long, Dark Hole

Heat rises from the horse's flanks adding to my fugue. I am pressed against a long bow whose string cuts cruelly into my flesh, I hold on for dear life. I can see now that the trees are thinning. The Queen's road twists alongside the path we have taken. Once we get to the castle, there will be no chance of escape. I look about hoping to spy an opportunity for flight but it is hard to see in the dark. Then a creature lands on my shoulder. I swat it with my hand. But instead of leaving it flies to my ear.

"Get ready to jump!" it says, "now!"

Why I trust this voice in the dark I don't know, but I jump, tumbling off the horse's flank, barely clearing its pounding hooves. I land on an incline and begin to roll picking up speed as I descend, bumping over rocks and roots, stopping only when I crash into the trunk of a tree. The ground begins to tremor then open up to swallow me. Falling down through the dark earth, time is suspended as I twist left, then right, always down until I land with a thump on a mound of dirt. I am a sorry sight! My head pounds, my body aches, I am lost and alone, standing in a hole in a tattered dress. It seems futile even to cry. Then, a humming sound rushes toward me.

"Follow me", says a voice in my ear, taking off down a twisting dark path.

I trail after the noise and find myself in some kind of room. It is circular in nature with many doors standing as guards to its perimeter. A large hat sits in the center. Each door beckons with a swirling scene but I am drawn to one in particular. I reach out to touch the picture on the door and my hand melts through. The humming grows louder and the creature whose been my guide begins diving at my head. I swat wildly, arms wind-milling out of control. Then I lose my footing and begin to fall through the door. The creature comes with me and I hear him say, "Two go in, two go out."

At the Queen's gate the rider pulls up his steed. His armor clanks and grinds as he dismounts, slinging his bow across his back. He is a shadow moving through the great hall, illuminated only by the flicker of torchlight glinting off the metal suit encasing him. As he strides toward the lair of his mistress he knows only one thing, she will not be pleased.

He is not disappointed.

"Your majesty," he says entering, genuflecting. She is clothed in silks of black that outline her beauty in lace and her cruelty in diamond shards and leather. The Queen's face contorts, "Where is she?"

"She got away," the Huntsman replies.

The Queen raises her hand and he is thrown against the wall, slammed mercilessly over and over until his head spins and the fight is knocked from his body. Then the Queen approaches, her fingers stroking his beard before digging into his neck with painted claws, "How could you let her get away!" she demands, her voice cutting slowly like a knife.

"I, I don't know," he says, gasping for breath.

The Queen stokes his beard again, he is so...helpless. "I shall punish you well for this, later," she replies, branding her words on his lips with a searing kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Into the Night

The mob rushes up the wide circular stair, racing to lay hands on the one who took away all their happiness. Regina cowers by the window steeling herself as the first shuttering blows rain against the locked door. She hears David yell, "Again!" They will not stop until they have blood. Her blood!

Regina closes her eyes, her hands splayed in a fan before her. She summons the magic. A dark fire tingles at her fingertips but it is not enough, the spark fades then sputters out. She sighs, the magic is not strong enough yet for her to manifest what she needs. But it will be.

Another crashing blow resounds and the door to Henry's room explodes in a splinter of wood. David rushes forth his hands tightening around Regina's neck. The color drains from her face as she gasps for air, David's murderous eyes fill with rage and he presses his thumbs into her throat. The clamor of the mob's jeers mount. Then a soft voice whispers, "This is not right," Mary Margret lays her hand on David's arm and his grasp weakens just enough for Regina to gulp a rasping breath of air.

"She's right, you know, dearie," says Mr. Gold entering the room. With him comes a strange thickness that fills the air making each movement, each gesture feel strained. "Let her go," he commands, waving his fingers. Slowly, trance-like David loosens his grip. Regina staggers but Gold has her arm. He leads her silently down the stairs past the mob who appear to be trapped, suspended in thick air, their voiced "no" and outstretched arms unable to touch the two as they descend. A cold breeze chills the night on the street and Regina pulls her arm free of Gold's grasp.

"That went well," he mutters, his stick tapping the pavement as he turns to leave.

But Regina grabs his arm pressing her face close to his. "You almost had me killed!"

"Almost, dearie, but not quite," Gold snorts.

"That was not part of the plan!" she says, trembling with rage.

A wide smile cracks Gold's face. "Maybe not part of your plan," he whispers, turning away. "Remember, I'm the one with the power here!" his laugh echoes through the dark as he walks away, "Run!"

Just then the mob pours out of Regina's mansion onto the street. "There she is!" some one cries, but Regina's doesn't hear as she slips away, swallowed by the blackness of the night.

The elevator hits bottom with a jarring clang and I am thrown against the golden scrollwork that decorates the elevator door. It slides open easily against my weight and I stumble out into a world I've never seen before. "What is the place?" I murmur. Stars sparkle all around me twinkling a bright message that causes me to explore further. There seems to be something gleaming, glowing up ahead. A sudden intuitive fear chills me but the glowing object holds an attraction all its own. Disregarding the warning echoing in my mind I step forth towards this prize and whatever treasure it holds.


End file.
